Shell
by Chirinah
Summary: When Tsuna enters the Ultimate State of Dying Will, Timoteo's seal disintegrates completely and reveals to the world a side of Tsuna no one has ever imagined existed.
1. Prologue

SHELL

Author's note. Please do not pass this by. It's very important.

Truth be told, I actually really like this concept, because it's the sort of headcannon that can explain a lot of the downright exaggerations in the story but doesn't necessarily have to change anything. The idea came to me around February, and I wrote all of three thousand words before getting sidetracked by another project—which never saw the light of day as it went straight to the recycle bin, like all the ideas that followed. I get sidetracked a lot. But I saved Shell, because it's awesome and honesty kind of unique.

I've never read anything like it. (If you have, kindly shout about it? I'd love to read some more awesome Tsuna stuff that isn't cliché and too much AU.)

So…I'm pushing through until either of three things happen. One, I finish the story (highly unlikely considering my track record with things like this, I'm fickle like that.) Two, a Good Samaritan adopts the concept and gives me a new favorite person to add to my ever-shrinking list. Three, I get bored.

I'm starting this off by telling you awesome people not to expect much, and be open to possible cliffhangers in the future.

ABOUT

When Tsuna enters the Ultimate State of Dying Will, Timoteo's seal disintegrates completely and reveals to the world a side of Tsuna no one has ever imagined existed.

This story works on two assumptions: one, that Timoteo's seal on Tsuna's Flames had an over-all effect on his physical and mental state, thus his nigh impossible Dame-ness; and two, that Hyper Dying Will Tsuna is the real Tsuna—a glimpse—and that Dame-Tsuna is just his…shell. A mere consequence of the seal that was never supposed to exist.

Therefore, you should expect tons of OOC-ness and just plain shit.

This follows canon timeline, from after the fight with Vendice. Anything after that didn't happen. They released the curse of the Arcobaleno and helped the Vendice get their revenge, and then Tsuna dropped dead.

Prologue

It wasn't that Tsuna wasn't motivated enough. It's that he really wasn't capable. There was no 'you can do it if you only try with him', because he tried, and tried and tried and tried and every attempt just ended in more and more pain and humiliation than the last.

He was a loser, plain and simple.

He often wondered why he was that way. Why he had so much difficulty understanding things that came so easily to others his age. Why he couldn't learn anything, no matter how hard he studied or how long he practiced. He couldn't even cheat properly, since he failed even at that. And his motor skills were just devastating.

At age thirteen, he had long since given up the hope of growing into someone great. Why bother with greatness when he couldn't even be average?

And that was what hurt the most, the hopelessness.

Why was he even alive when he could do nothing right?

Reborn was the sole good thing that happened in his life. One could argue that the sadistic hitman was paving the road to hell for him while he rode on willingly upon the camel's back, but Tsuna would sooner burn himself with his own Flames than change anything that happened since Reborn came.

Even if Reborn didn't exactly fit the bill of an angelic cherub, the way Tsuna saw it, Reborn could grow a thousand horns and a million tails but he would still be Tsuna's angel.

He was so grateful he would worship him on his knees if he thought Reborn was into that sort of thing. Lucky for him, Reborn preferred him running, or as recent events have unfolded, flying.

(Gosh, darn, he still couldn't quite wrap his head around that. He could fly!)

Tsuna loved his family. (Sometimes, this included a certain blond Italian, but most times he might as well be burned off the family tree for all the care Tsuna gave him.) He loved his Guardians, despite how volatile they might be. He loved Dino and Enma and the rest of their merry gang of subordinates who still intimidated him a great deal even after everything. He loved I pin and Fong and Skull and the rest of the weird Arcobalenos, despite the fact that more than half of them despised him.

He even loved the Varia, and Xanxus. And that, right there, was a testament to how lonely his life was before everything, that he would take bullying and abuse and return it with innocent affection—because in the past he had nothing, nothing at all, just a far-away Dad and an absent mother and disdain from everyone else.

He loved Kyoko and Haru and Shoichi and Spanner—and this was a special sort of love, because in the midst of monstrous creatures, the four of them were really quite normal. And, yes, his standards of normal were skewed, but really, who's asking?

He loved them all. The ones who tried to kill him. The ones who seemed to worship him. The ones who didn't give a damn about anything. Even Byakuran.

And this was the point where he tries to love the person he hates most in the world and succeeds, somewhat, that he knew he was healing…

He was learning to love himself.

And it was such a freeing feeling.

But then—

"Tsuna! Tsuna, stop!"

"Sawada!"

"Dear God, what's happening to him?"

"Get Shamal, right. Fucking. Now!"

"No! Tsuna-kun!"

"Tsuna-san, please! Tell us what's going on!"

—then it happens.

"Is it over? Did we win? What happened back there?"

"I—I don't know! Okay? I don't know! One minute he was fighting and then it was over. The man with the iron mask comes in and then there's old man Talbot—"

"How about Tsuna? Will he be okay?"

"I don't know! I have no fucking clue, get it! I'm as much in the dark as you! Everything happened so fast, we didn't even—"

Fate is a cruel, cruel thing.

"Get your asses out of the way! We're taking him to the hospital!"

"What's—"

"And you idiots get moving too! You're no use to your boss once you die of blood loss or some shit. Get yourself in a hospital bed or so help me—"

"Hey, careful! The shoulder's—"

"Idiots! Out of the way!"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

There was no beep. No flat lines flashing across a green monitor. No fatal injury. Even a gunshot wound bleeding off the car floor.

There were arms wrapped around him, warm and uncomfortable, awkwardly holding him upright on a plush leather seat. The smell of blood and ammonia. Something burning.

There was no beep. No time of death. No messy morgue business. No funeral.

But there was no mistaking it.

"Tsuna, where are you?"

He died.

It sounded like egg shells breaking.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

P.S. Keep the reviews coming and i may just reach chapter five. or four.


	2. Chapter One

Reborn wasn't often caught off guard. He could list in one hand all the times he was genuinely surprised. He liked to be prepared for every possible contingency in every situation he waded in. But sometimes, there really was no helping it.

He had been working for Vongola for a long, long time. He was an old soul, despite his deceptive form. If he had to guess, he'd say he was older than even Nono, though who was asking, really? Physically he was two, and that was that. Though, he did miss his adult form at times. He had the best shooting rate at twenty-five.

And, yeah, at twenty-five he stood better chance at holding Tsuna aloft than when he was a toddler.

God knew adolescents shoot up like lightning.

Was he always this big?

Holding Tsuna in his arms while the young boy was unconscious and covered in blood was not how he imagined this stupid war to end. Granted, in every scenario he cooked up in his head he was dead by the end, so really this should have made him feel…well, better than he was feeling.

He wanted to kill someone.

Perhaps a thousand someones.

Just…a fuck it!

"Why the fuck are you driving like a turtle, Romario? For the love of Primo, just gun it, will you? Tsuna's dying here!" he yelled, which was a clear testament to his mental state.

He was rattled. That didn't happen often. But then the heir of the world's most important famiglia wasn't on the verge of death-for real-all that often either. Oh, Tsuna would say that was an outright lie, but in all the shit that happened the past two years, he was never really truly in danger. Getting his student killed was not in Reborn's job description, after all.

"W-will he be okay?" Dino said, his voice a pitch higher than normal as he held onto the leather seat of the car while it lurched across the streets of Namimori in breakneck speed. He was sat in front of Reborn and Tsuna, and was getting paler and paler by the second, both from all the blood flowing from his wounds and from the way Romario drove his beloved Corvette. In any other circumstance Reborn would have berated him from being such a ninny, but this was not any other circumstance.

"I'm not a fucking doctor, Dino," he snapped. Why the fuck was the hospital so damn far from the park? "Faster, Romario!"

"It's only been a minute, Reborn," Dino said exasperatedly. "We'll be-"

Reborn glared at him. "Shut the fuck up, Cavallone."

Dino gulped, and shut the fuck up.

Just then, the hospital came into view, and the next moment they were rushing Tsuna inside, rolling him in on a prepared stretcher, a wizened doctor checking his vitals while a busty nurse outfitted him with an oxygen mask. Shamal was waiting for them inside the ER, frowning at the deathly pale boy on the cart before slamming the doors on their faces.

Reborn bristled, but let it go. For now.

Soon, the waiting room was filled with injured but otherwise still volatile mafioso. A lot of them were too hurt to be wandering around in the halls, but stubborn as they were, they still did anyway. Mammon was several million dollars richer because of the number of organ illusions he had to perform. Reborn honestly couldn't care less about them, but he had to bite down the stupidly proud grin that kept trying to surface on his face as he looked at his student's loyal 'subordinates'. It seemed like the boss lessons were coming along great.

Now, if Tsuna would just wake up, everything would be-

A loud, terrifying scream filled the air, chilling him to the bone.

"Oh, my God," a female voice cried.

"What was that?" yelled another.

Another scream. And another, and another, and another…

"What on earth-"

"Sir, the patient is burning up?"

"What? Why the fuck-"

"His heart rate is through the roof. Sir, he could-"

"Get your butts moving then, perform the necessary procedures! Monitor his blood level, get his pulse down. And turn the fucking AC on high!"

"Sir-"

"And some ice!"

A surge of warm air filtered out the ER as the doors filed open. At once, the group waiting outside pulled up to their feet and approached the haggard-looking doctor. "What happened?"

Shamal let out a frustrated sigh. "We need to transfer him. This hospital is small and-"

"Fire!"

"Yeah, that too."

Reborn smirked. "He sure liked to keep things interesting, that Tsuna."

Shamal shook his head. "Not this time." In a low voice, he added, "I don't know what's wrong with him, Reborn."

Reborn's face was a blank slate. "What does that mean?"

"I mean, I have no idea what's going on with him. We did all the necessary tests, but he's physically fine. A sun came up to heal his physical injuries, and they weren't all that bad to begin with. All things considered, he should be up and about right now."

"But he isn't."

Shamal groaned. "I did not sign up for this."

Reborn narrowed his eyes. "What's his condition?"

Shamal shrugged. "Well, he's burning up, quite literally."

A shriek resounded all over the floor. "Fire!"

Reborn closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, Shamal was looking at the chaos around them bemusedly. Reborn snarled. "Get going. I'll call the Boss. He'll know what to do."

Nono was fast asleep inside the Boss House, as they called his brick home, snuggled against a mountain of pillows when the phone rang. He was up so fast his head swam and he had to take a minute to compose himself before he was able to reach for the handphone perched on the bedside table.

"Someone better be dying," was his gruff greeting, voice raw from sleep.

The man on the other side chuckled humorlessly, the sound sending a chill straight to his spine, waking him up faster than any coffee in the world could. "I see you're still rather…disagreeable in the morning, Timoteo."

The chill had now reached the tips of Timoteo's sock-covered toes. "Reborn," he said in trepidation. "You've called."

"Yes. Yes, I have. And it's not good news I fare, I'm afraid." A pause that felt like an eternity to Timoteo permeated the air. It was broken by a tired sigh from the World's Greatest Hitman. "Tsuna…is in a bad place Timoteo." Timoteo felt like he was dunked under freezing cold water.

"What?"

"He-he-" and this is where Timoteo realized that the situation was truly dire indeed, for never in his life has he heard the very own Lucifer of mafia stutter. "He's burning."


	3. Chapter Two

_"Sometimes suffering is just suffering. It doesn't make you stronger. It doesn't build character. It only hurts." —Kate Jacobs_

Tsuna remembered the pain. The humiliation. The utter hopelessness. He had forgotten his life before Reborn came and turned it upside down, and now he remembered. It must be because for the first time in a long while, he woke up alone to no noise from Lambo and I pin fighting for the last piece of candy, or Mama's gentle scolding, or Reborn's mallet.

He woke up alone, and after all the crazy, dangerous, life-threatening things he'd been through, he didn't realize how such a simple thing could wrench his insides so painfully. It was like every single organ he had was crushed by an invisible hand, twisting and turning and pulling, and pulling, and pulling…

There was a sharp pain in his head and he screamed.

No one came running up to his side. No one came to shove on his shoulders and call him awake. No one came to cup his face and ask him what was wrong.

He would have told them. _Everything._ Everything was wrong. Because he had friends, he had family, a girl who confessed her love for him every single day and he just saved the world from near destruction once, solved a problem no one had an answer to for centuries and he was alone. He wasn't supposed to be alone. Not anymore.

But he was. And everything. Was. Wrong.

Everywhere hurt. His heart. His head. His body. His insides.

His soul.

He thought, _I'm broken_ , before he let the darkness claim him.

And claim him, it did.

But he was wrong. He wasn't alone. Beyond the one-way glass of the wall, his entire family looked on as he thrashed and writhed and burned the sheets. They listened as his bloodcurdling screams vibrated along the walls and through their spines, making them shudder. And he wasn't broken. Far from it. He was healing, and after this…he would be perfect once more.

Just like the day he was born.

 _A blond-haired man wearing an immaculate three-piece suit rushed through the halls of Namimori Hospital, down to the newborn's ward. Nurses and patients and visitors alike looked on as he passed, plenty curious but otherwise indifferent, for while foreigners weren't quite common in their town, strange people were, and they grew immune to seeing strange things._

 _Now, no one thought to blink an eye as a blond foreigner ran through the hospital holding a pick-axe and looking crazed enough to murder somebody. They just turned to give him a second look before shrugging and getting back to their earlier tasks._

 _Meanwhile, the man, whose name was Iemitsu and was actually more than eighty percent Japanese in blood, with only a negligent Italian DNA from a very, very distant ancestor, reached the ward panting. His half-crazed eyes brightened considerably as he looked upon the dozens of baby boys and girls sleeping soundly inside, frantically searching for his own._

 _He didn't have to search long. For right at the corner laid his son, burning with an orange flame on his forehead, like a beacon, calling for him. Iemitsu's heart swelled._

 _"Tsuna," he whispered to the glass in front of him, and his baby smiled sweetly, as though he heard._

Haru sat at one corner of the waiting room, away from everyone else. Kyoko-chan and the others were huddled together, comforting each other or cursing at one another, Haru didn't know. Haru didn't care. All she cared about was the boy being tortured by invisible forces in the next room, all alone. Haru knew the little hit man boy had said they had to stay away, for his and everyone's sake, but she still couldn't see any logic in letting him suffer all this pain without a single one of his friends beside him. It would surely have alleviated the pain even slightly, she knew.

But Reborn-chan had said so, and while she didn't believe it quite as much as everyone else did, she knew he knew most, or at least more than they did. It was frustrating, and muffling his screams didn't help. She could still hear it in her bones, feel it on her back, vibrating along the walls. She couldn't imagine how much pain Tsuna-san had to be to give out such cries.

"How long is this supposed to go on for?" Gokudera yelled, punching the wall near him. Haru heard cracks, which must mean he hurt his hand. These walls were very sturdy, as evidenced by the fact that it still stood unscathed despite numerous attacks from Hibari-san, Sasagawa-san, and Gokudera-san over the hours.

"Stupid," Haru muttered, but not loud enough for anyone to hear. She understood their devotion to Tsuna, and knew it pained them to be standing around doing nothing while their beloved leader and friend was going through hell without them, but how could they have thought causing chaos and pain to themselves would solve the problem? It didn't help anyone, and certainly not Tsuna.

Yamamoto-san thought so too, and he had said so, but instead of calming down, Gokudera had lashed out on him, throwing a piece of dynamite that could have blown his head apart had he not cut it in half just in time with his sword. Haru sighed. _Idiots, the lot of them._

Sasagawa-san frowned at them as the two started an all-out brawl right then and there, to be joined by Hibari-san in the excuse of getting them to shut up and Dino-san, who tried to stop Hibari-san but was roped into fighting him instead. The boxer seemed to be itching to fight too, but didn't on the account that Kyoko-chan was trembling on his chest, crying non-stop. She had been crying for hours. Haru couldn't even remember how long it was anymore. Haru wondered if she never got tired bawling.

Haru certainly was. She looked away from Kyoko's crying and her eyes landed on Chrome, who sat demurely on the corner opposite to Haru, twiddling with her earring and giving anxious looks to her friend or Master or whatever, Mukuro, who had joined the fray and was now on a three-way fight with Hibari-san and Dino-san. Chrome caught her eyes and Haru gave her a comforting smile. Chrome answered with a teary smile of her own.

The door slammed open and they both looked as an old man with an entourage of six highly scary men walked in, faces grim. Nonno, Haru recalled. Tsuna's grandfather. The Ninth Boss of Vongola. And his Guardians. Reborn had said they were coming from Italy to see Tsuna, and that Nonno was the only one who knew what was really happening.

The fighting had stopped abruptly as soon as they came, and Nonno gave them a nod of appreciation. Haru doubted any of them appreciated his presence, but Tsuna's Guardians each nodded back. No one bowed, even though half of them were Japanese and Nono was exactly a man one should bow a full ninety-degrees to. Nonno didn't seem to mind.

"What's his status?" the Ninth asked Reborn, who was at the moment perched on Dino-san's shoulders.

"Still bad," Reborn answered darkly. "It's been fifteen hours and he hasn't stopped screaming."

Tsuna's screams resounded in Haru's ears, even though the sound had been muted by Gianini-san a few hours ago after the Guardians went self-destructive at the sounds. Yamamoto-san had bumped his head against the wall repeatedly; Gokudera-san had nearly scratched his ears off; Chrome clawed at her chest and sobbed so hard Mukuro nearly choked her trying to get her to stop. Lambo had taken to releasing his Flames while wailing so loud I pin had to punch the lights out of him. Then she crawled in next to him and they both fell asleep in exhaustion. Sasagawa-san hurt his hands by punching them together over and over, deaf to all of Kyoko's pleas for him to stop. And Hibari-san nearly blew the entire place apart.

But while they no longer heard his screams, no one in this room would ever forget those sounds.

Haru's gaze fell to where Tsuna-san laid thrashing on the bed, ripping the sheets and pulling at his hair. Her heart broke.

"I'll go to him," Nonno said in perfectly accentless Japanese. Haru looked up to see them walk out as ominously as they came in.

She frowned, standing up and wriggling her hands together. "Will you be able to help him?"

Nonno looked back at her, face tired and pale and so, so old. "I'll try."

"How?" Gokudera asked loudly. "What's wrong with him anyway? We've been here for hours and no one will tell us what the hell is going on."

Nonno sighed, and one of his Guardians glared at Gokudera. Gokudera glared back. "I don't know yet," Nonno said. "But from what Reborn has told me, it seems the seal I placed on him when he was a child has disintegrated." At everyone's confused faces, he continued. "As you know, Tsuna has an inordinate amount of Flames. Usually, people only manifest Dying Will Flames when their wills are their peak, or when prompted by a medium. In your case, it's the Vongola Rings. That's the easiest, and most common way to use the Flames. Only certain people can use their body as a medium to produce Flames, like Basil of CEDEF, and Tsunayoshi-kun.

"Basil-kun has been trained since he was a boy to handle the strain of the Hyper Dying Will State, much like Iemitsu and myself, and most of the previous Vongola bosses. No one without training has ever survived entering it and that is why Vongola is so revered, and so feared."

"But Tsuna didn't-"Yamamoto said.

Nono cut him off with a sad smile. "Exactly. Tsunayoshi-kun had no training whatsoever, except the little he had with Reborn when he entered Hyper Dying Will Mode during his fight with Mukuro-kun here."

Mukuro grinned. "He was an invalid for two weeks." He flinched when Chrome pinched his arm. Haru bit down on her lip so hard it burned.

Nono nodded. "Yes, but that in itself is a miracle. He should have died."

Gokudera, Yamamoto and Sasagawa sputtered their protests. Reborn cut them off with a shot of his gun. It bounced off the wall and landed on the floor next to Gokudera."Why didn't he?"

"It's because he's special." A pause. "Did you know, when he was born, he was already in Hyper Dying Will Mode?"

Reborn frowned. "Is that possible?"

A nod. "Only one other person has been recorded to be born that way."

Gokudera could guess. "Vongola Primo."

"Yes, Vongola Primo, Tsunayoshi's ancestor. He was said to have been born with the Dying Will Flame burning on his forehead, but it had always been thought of as a legend, since just the very thought seemed impossible. The Dying Will Flame is very rare, and even then it usually had to be forced out to manifest itself. To think of someone who could manifest it without thought, without any sort of training…it was an insult to all who worked themselves to near-death to achieve that state."

Reborn pursed his lips. "You're still not telling us the problem."

Nonno focused on him. "Yes, the problem is, when Tsunayoshi was younger, he had no control of his Flames. As you know, he has a lot, even sealed, and when he was an infant he had the tendency to burn…things. Iemitsu called me and told me to seal half of his Flames away, so he wouldn't hurt anyone, least of all, himself. Unfortunately, I had no knowledge at all in sealing Flames. Sealing people is one thing, but sealing flames…I had to search for a manual somewhere, and it took years. I didn't even expect one would really exist, but there is one. From Giotto's Villa.

"It had all the instructions, all the procedures to seal Flames away. I was so excited, I flew straight to Japan. Unfortunately, his Flames were too wild, you could say, especially since he had no conscious control of it and instead of half, I sealed nearly everything. What he had used until now was only less than ten percent of his real power."

Haru let that sink in. She had seen Tsuna-san fight before, seen his X-Burner. If that was less than ten percent…

"When he entered his Ultimate Dying Will form, as Reborn had told me he did, he most likely broke the seal, and now his body is trying to adjust to, I'm guessing, the onslaught of Flames when it came rushing to him like a flood."

"But…he'll survive, right?" Kyoko-chan asked tearfully.

Nono merely smiled and said, "Tsunayoshi-kun is strong."

Haru sighed. In relief, in concern, she didn't know. But her ensuing gasp had but one emotion behind it.

"Tsuna-san's awake!"

 _Happiness._

Before Tsuna was able to sit up straight, he was surrounded by people. Very loud and rambunctious people. Gokudera tackled him in a hug the moment he was close enough, crying, "Tenth!" And then they were tackled by Yamamoto, followed by Sasagawa, jumped on by Lambo and poked by Mukuro.

Hibari stayed to the side for all of ten seconds before proceeding to bite them all to death.

Well, all except Tsuna.

Instead, the brunet caught Hibari's tonfa effortlessly between his thumb and index finger, staring at him with bright amber eyes.

That was when they noticed.

"Your forehead is burning, Tsuna," Reborn remarked tonelessly.

Tsuna answered in the same flat tone, his voice the familiar echo-like quality when he's in HDWM. "It's supposed to."

"I see you have completely gained your strength, Tsunayoshi-kun," a voice called from behind them. Nono and his Guardians. A dry chuckle. "I wasn't even needed after all."

Tsuna sat up and flexed his hands. He could feel his Flames burning underneath, waiting for his call. He smiled. "Yes, it seems I have. But I appreciate you coming for me anyway, Grandpa."

Reborn frowned. He noticed that Tsuna did not stutter once, even faced with many Mafiosi at once. "How do you feel, Tsuna?"

Tsuna's smile was slow and easy. "Like me." He then proceeded to jump down the bed and walk towards Haru. Haru stood frozen, unsure how to take this Tsuna who was looking at her like she was…food. Or something. He licked his lips. Haru's breath caught.

Haru had seen Tsuna in this mode before, but half of that was when he was fighting for his life and theirs and half when he was three thousand feet on air. She'd never seen him burning up close.

Now she did.

And up close it was.

Haru glanced tentatively at the flaming forehead near hers, marveling at the warmth of it. For some reason it didn't burn. But, she supposed since it never did burn Tsuna…

"Um, Tsuna-san…?" She didn't understand why he was standing so close though. Her eyes darted behind him to see half the room in shock, while Reborn was looking at them amusedly, perched on the old man's shoulders.

"Tsuna-san?" She tried again when Tsuna simply kept eyeing her intensely. She noticed how pretty his eyes looked. It wasn't golden or orange, but a swirling mix of both. She wondered if it would be possible to pass on those eyes to his children.

Tsuna grinned. Haru gulped. Then, after what seemed like years, he turned to address the others, but kept his back close to her. She'd never noticed before, but even though Tsuna was as slender as they come, his shoulders were toned, as were his back. From afar he always looked like he could be flown by the slightest winds, but from where Haru was, she could see that wasn't the case. If Tsuna was to go flying, he would ride the wind and not the other way around.

It made sense, considering he _does_ fly.

"Hey," he said, and Haru heard more than saw the smile on his face. He reached back and held his hand to her, and she hesitated only for a moment before putting hers on it, smiling and blushing like mad. Then she leaned on his warm back and let the others fuss over his health.

He was fine.

He was perfect.

Minutes later, Haru found herself seated beside a now properly clothed Tsuna, while all their friends circled around them, waiting eagerly for the discussion that was sure to come.

Tsuna's hand held hers tightly, but not painfully on his lap, garnering the eyes of Kyoko and Gokudera. Gokudera glared so hard at Haru she was sure she felt the pain physically, but she gave it no mind and smiled sweetly back at Kyoko who grinned and mouthed a congratulations to her.

Haru wasn't sure what she was congratulating her for, she wasn't quite sure what this…touchy thing meant still, but she was so happy she was buoyant. If Tsuna went back to being his usual self tomorrow…she would deal with it the way she dealt with everything. With a smile.

Though, she would probably cry too. Just not in front of anyone. Right now though, Tsuna was holding her hand like he wanted her beside him, and that was what she was going to do.

Gokudera broke the comfortable silence by asking how Tsuna felt. Tsuna answered that he felt great, which appeared to be satisfactory enough to make Gokudera stop bouncing on his heels and turn back to glaring at everyone. Haru especially. Haru stuck her tongue at the stormy silver-head, earning another glare from Gokudera and a chuckle from Tsuna, who, Haru saw as she turned, surprised, was watching her.

She grinned, her heart jumping to her throat when Tsuna smiled softly and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ears. She blushed when she realized half of her hair had fallen out of her ponytail and took her hand from Tsuna's too fix it. He wouldn't let her though, and narrowed his eyes in warning while taking her hand back and completely pulling the tie off. Haru blushed some more and sputtered like a fish out of water.

Thankfully, Reborn chose that moment to speak and take the attention off of the flustered girl. "Are you going to be staying in that form from now on?"

Tsuna nodded without looking away from Haru's face, his other hand now on her hair, twirling it again and again on his finger. "Yes, my shell is gone. He won't be coming back."

Yamamoto frowned. "You meant the seal, right?"

This time, Tsuna faced him before answering. He frowned thoughtfully. "No, although that is also true. My seal is gone, and so my shell is gone. Think of it like a case of…split personality. There's the Tsuna you all knew. Clumsy, stupid and no-good as fuck." Haru blinked. She had never heard Tsuna-san curse before. " And then there's me, the one with the burning forehead and can fly better than Superman. Dame-Tsuna came out because Nono sealed my Flames, which sealed _'me_ '. I was put inside this shell, Dame-Tsuna and had no power over my own body. And then the seal is gone, so now I'm back in control. The shell is gone too."

Haru could practically see the swirls and question marks in Yamamoto and Sasagawa-san's eyes. Gokudera, however, caught on fast. "So, you're the real Tsuna."

Tsuna's smile was kind as he shook his head, his hair falling over his forehead in a way that's reminiscent of Primo. "I wouldn't say that. We were both real, we have the same memories. It's just that, Dame-Tsuna has none of my abilities because he has no Flames."

"Nono said he sealed 90% of your power." Reborn.

Tsuna shook his head and started playing with Haru's hair once more. "I don't know about that. I don't think you can seal Flames in fractions. I think it's more like he sealed everything, and that's why I used to be so hopeless. No matter how hard you trained me, without the bullets you have, I never would have been able to do anything. The bullets are responsible for releasing my Flames, though only a bit."

"So now you can use all of your Flames."

Tsuna grinned. His flesh burned with Flames. He had never felt anything quite so pleasurable. "Yep."

"What's the difference between you and that…other Tsuna?" Haru couldn't help but ask.

Tsuna answered her with a coy grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?" and then he kissed her.

Oh.

Pulling back, he grinned oh so slowly, "That's one of them. I'm not very shy."

"I can see that," Reborn muttered.

Tsuna ignored him and turned back to the others. "I suppose I'm stronger than your old Tsuna, too, though by how much I'm not sure."

"Why don't we put that to the test, then, little animal?" Hibari stepped forward, tonfas blazing. Dino mumbled incoherently, rolling his eyes.

Tsuna smirked. "Why not, indeed?"


	4. Chapter Three

As was expected, Hibari attacked immediately. Tsuna carried Haru out of the line of fire in a single jump and deposited her on one corner with Kyoko and Chrome. "Stay here," he said. "I'm just going to play with my Cloud a bit."

Haru wondered whether Tsuna had brain damage somehow, but before she could think too much of it, there was an explosion on the other side of the room. The girls coughed up dust even as Chrome molded an illusion of a transparent shield around them.

"What do you think is going to happen, Haru-chan?" asked Kyoko whose eyes were still sore but was now back to her old cheerful self.

"Eto..." Haru mumbled. "Haru really doesn't know. Everything is crazy."

"Isn't it always?" Bianchi said, appearing beside them. "The Tenth Generation is always so, so interesting."

* * *

They took the fight outside. Fortunately, the parking lot of the hospital was devoid of people so Tsuna and Hibari could spar without hurting anyone else. The rest of the guys and the Ninth Generation watched from the sidelines.

"Is he really doing this?" Yamamoto was confused, though he was still cheerful. The Tsuna he knew didn't actively sought out fights from anyone, let alone Hibari. He knew the boy was strong; he's seen him fight at his best and at his worst. When it came down to it, they could alway count on Tsuna to give his best. But he was never interested in fighting for the sake of fighting, not like Ryohei and Hibari.

"What do you think, idiot?" Gokudera answered the rhetorical question. He was edgy himself. He wanted to get out there and fight alongside his Boss, but at the rate the fight was going, he would only be a nuisance.

Tsuna was holding his own.

* * *

It's been around ten minutes. Hibari attacked with his steel tonfa, Tsuna parried and dodged and punched. Neither of them were expressly using their Flames and Gear, but it was still an impressive fight.

Hibari feigned a right and let loose his propagating chains, tripping up Tsuna. Tsuna recovered quickly and jumped several feet backwards. Reborn noticed he wasn't wearing his gloves. His hands didn't seem to be burned.

"Dino," he said simply. His former student nodded. "Yeah, he's better. Granted, it seems Kyoya is holding back a bit."

"A bit?" Gokudera piped in. "Try a lot. He doesn't even have Roll out yet."

"And Natsu isn't out either."

"Well, Hibari did say he was testing _Tsuna's_ fighting abilities," Dino replied.

"Fight, SAWADA TO THE EXTREME!"

"Urusai, Turf-top," Gokudera yelled half-heartedly. He lit a cigarette, but before he could puff on it Yamamoto had already thrown it on the ground and stepped on it, extinguishing the flames.

"Maa, maa, smoking is bad for your health Gokudera. Hahaha."

Gokudera counted to three before he unleashed his dynamites. Yamamoto laughed.

* * *

"Why are you holding back, Hibari-san?" said Tsuna, blocking a strong blow to the face with his arm. He hissed when spikes came out of the tonfa and jumped away. He came back with a kick, which Kyoya expertly dodged.

"Why are you?" Hibari asked back, kicking up.

"Well, I don't really want to destroy the parking lot."

"Hn." Hibari threw a chain at Tsuna. It landed and broke the concrete where Tsuna was standing.

Tsuna grinned. "This is still Namimori, you know?" As if Kyoya would ever forget.

He was answered with a blow to the face.

"You're paying the damages," Hibari grinned savagely, releasing a bout of purple Cloud Flames. "Your Flames are clawing to get out, small animal."

He charged.

* * *

"And the Flames are out," Yamamoto commented, stroking his sword. Kojirou yipped by his feet. His eyes sharply assessed every move of the opposing duo. It was fascinating to watch how they made fighting a sort of art form, like his sword style. They flowed in a graceful manner, almost like they were dancing. Add in the colorful Flames and it was like a show.

"Looks great to the extreme" Ryohei observed. "It's still not 100% but Tsuna seems more comfortable with fighting."

"He's having fun," Dino said.

"Hmm, seems like it," Gokudera agreed, tugging on Uri who was scratching on his head. He nodded to Yamamoto. "Nice fight. But you should still train more if you want to be worthy as Tenth's Guardian."

Yamamoto grinned good-naturedly. "Sure, sure."

"How's your collarbone, Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked curiously. He remembered the fight with Jager and how Mukuro and Hibari were both injured. Hibari didn't seem to be in much pain. Come to think of it, even Gokudera and Yamamoto seemed to be in tip top shape. Ryohei too.

"Sun," was all the aloof Cloud said, sending a handcuff flying towards Tsuna. Tsuna dodged to the right, only to be captured by another handcuff. His arm was engulfed within seconds.

"Damn," he cursed. "Natsu," he called.

* * *

"Oi, Natsu is out."

"But Hibari still hasn't used his hedgehog. And where did those handcuffs come from anyway?"

"Who knows?"

* * *

Natsu petrified the handcuffs which Tsuna then easily broke out of. Hibari smirked at the panting boss. "Tired already?"

Tsuna smiled. "It seems I still can't match up to you Hibari-san."

Hibari jumped down. "Your body hasn't adjusted to your flames, small animal. You still have a long way to go."

Tsuna chuckled. "You're right. Though they come to me easily now. I don't think I'll need the pills anymore."

"Hn," was all Hibari said before the prefect walked away.

* * *

"Well, that's that," Dino said with an exasperated sigh. "Kyoya is as ferocious as ever."

"And Tenth is as great as ever," Gokudera said loyally.

"Dame-Tsuna is still Dame-Tsuna, seal or no seal." Reborn said.

"That was an awesome fight to the extreme! Sawada lasted an hour against Hibari!"

"Well, at least he doesn't seem too damaged," Yamamoto said. "He's only woken up."

* * *

"Is it over?" Haru wondered when the noise seemed to die down.

"Seems like it," Bianchi said. "Let's go check it out."

Tsuna's muscles shook as he fought to keep upright. Hibari was right, his body hasn't adjusted to his Flames at all. He acted rashly out of false confidence. He wasn't in perfect condition yet. The seal may be gone, but his body was the same Dame-Tsuna that tripped over thin air for fifteen odd years.

He sighed. Now what should he do?

"Feel like running, Dame-Tsuna?" said a familiar voice from his shoulder.

"Wha—" _Bang._ "Thirteen rounds around Namimori, Dame-Tsuna. Training resumes right now."

Bang. Boom. Woosh.

Tsuna shrieked. "Reborn! What are you doing?! Wha! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

* * *

Haru watched as Tsuna ran off, Reborn on his heels, screaming like a girl. She smiled. She worried Tsuna wouldn't be the same when he woke up acting all different, but it seemed her worries were unfounded.

Tsuna is Tsuna.

"Haha, that looks like fun. Come on, let's go join them, Gokudera, Senpai!"

"Running is extreme training!"

"Tenth! We'll be right there!"

 _Crazy, huh?_

"What do you think, Mukuro-sama?"


End file.
